Crime, Corruption, and the Evolution of New York’s Underworld

At the turn of the 20th century, New York City was a place where crime wasn’t just a problem – it was woven into the very fabric of the city’s identity. A massive wave of immigration had created unique criminal ecosystems in New York's crowded neighborhoods, from the Five Points to the Lower East Side, and reformers often relied on unconventional methods to help turn things around.

Dan Slater’s “The Incorruptibles” chronicles the true story of the Lower East Side in the early 1900s, where Jewish immigrants formed powerful crime syndicates. After a gambler’s murder drew global attention, a group of affluent German-Jewish uptowners created a secret vice squad, the Incorruptibles, to tackle the city’s corruption. Led by a young reformer, their efforts inadvertently gave rise to a new class of criminals who exploited the reform movement to their advantage.

On March 26, join the Downtown Alliance for a discussion featuring Slater, novelist and screenwriter Richard Price (“Clockers,” “The Whites”), and journalist Max Rivlin-Nadler (Hell Gate, Gothamist, The Village Voice). Slater, Price and Rivlin-Nadler will examine the lesser-known historical forces that shaped crime and law enforcement in the city, while drawing connections between past and present.

The conversation will explore themes such as:

• The intersection of political machines, police corruption and organized crime during a formative period in the city's history through present day.
• The progressive reformers and incorruptible public servants who fought to transform the city's institutions in the face of entrenched corruption.
• How successive waves of Irish, Italian, Jewish and other immigrant groups established criminal enterprises that reflected both their marginalization and their adaptation to American urban life.
• How these early criminal enterprises evolved into the more structured crime families and organizations of the mid-20th century and beyond.
• The success and failures of New York’s history of crime-fighting.

The discussion will be followed by a reception and light refreshments. Copies of "The Incorruptibles" by Dan Slater, as well as select works by Richard Price, will be available for purchase at the event.

Whether your interest lies in historical true crime, the evolution of law enforcement or the intricate ties between crime and society, you won’t want to miss this educational and illuminating discussion.

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances, Tom Robbins will no longer be participating. We’re pleased to welcome Max Rivlin-Nadler, who will moderate the conversation.

A graduate of Colgate University, New York Film Academy and Brooklyn Law School, Dan Slater has written for more than a dozen publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the Atlantic. The New York Times called his last book, “Wolf Boys,” “unforgettable,” and the Chicago Public Library named it one of the best books of 2016. His new book, “The Incorruptibles,” about the Jewish underworld of the Lower East Side, was published to wide acclaim this past summer. The Times called “The Incorruptibles” “unrivaled,” and chose it as an editor’s pick. The New York Post called it “required reading." And WSJ wrote that it's “a deeply researched and fluidly written corrective to the conventional picture of what life was like on those mean streets.” Raised in Minnesota, Dan lives in New England with his wife and their two sons.

Richard Price is the author of several novels — including “Lazarus Man,” “Clockers” and “Lush Life” — all of which have won universal praise for their vividly etched portrayals of urban America. He has written for television dramas, including “The Night Of,” “The Deuce” and “The Wire,” as well as numerous screenplays, including “Sea of Love,” “Ransom” and “The Color of Money,” directed by Martin Scorsese, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, the novelist Lorraine Adams.

Max Rivlin-Nadler is a co-founder of Hell Gate, a worker-owned news outlet covering New York City. He has reported for The New York Times, NPR, the Village Voice, and The Intercept. His years-long investigation into New York City's arcane civil forfeiture laws led to a series of reforms which altered a practice that had been taking millions from poor communities for decades. He recently won a New York Press Club award for his recent reporting on the case of Prakash Churaman, a Guyanese immigrant who was held for years on Rikers Island as a teenager before his case was eventually dismissed.